Plans for the summer break
My second year of university is now coming to an end, and the well-deserved summer break is fast approaching. In this post, I'd like to share what I'll be getting up to over the summer and some of the goals and opportunities I'm looking forward to during the break.
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I'm going to be fully locked in this summer. No holidays, no major plans, just me, my laptop, and a lot of time dedicated to learning and building.
As everyone knows, the Software Engineering job market is incredibly competitive right now. The bar for entry-level developers seems to get higher every year, and while I don't think I'm a bad programmer, I know that where I am today isn't where I want to be. There's still a lot for me to learn, a lot more projects to build, and plenty of skills to improve.
Rather than seeing that as discouraging, I see it as motivation.
Over the next few months, I'll be focusing on sharpening my programming skills, working on personal projects, exploring new technologies, and becoming a better developer overall. My goal isn't just to add things to my CV, but to genuinely improve my understanding of software engineering and become more capable at building real-world applications.
By the end of the summer, I want to be able to look back and say that I made the most of the time I had.
We'll see how it goes.
Goals
Here are a list of my goals:
- Learn more about backend development, networking & infrastructure
- Publish 2 more apps on the App Store
- Improve my DSA (Data Structures Algorithms) skills
- Solve 200-300 LeetCode questions
- Become more proficient with industry leading AI tools
- Start to cover systems design concepts
- Learn C++
Conclusion
You might be thinking that my plans for the summer sound a little dull, and honestly, I can see why. But the truth is that I genuinely enjoy Software Engineering. Building things, learning new technologies, solving problems, and continuously improving as a programmer is something I find rewarding.
More importantly, I want a career in this field badly enough that I'm willing to sacrifice some of the more typical summer activities to pursue it. Everyone has different priorities, and this is mine.
One thing I've learned is that success in any field requires more than simply wanting something. It takes consistent effort over a long period of time. Whether your goal is in technology, business, sports, art, or anything else, progress usually comes from showing up day after day and putting in the work, even when nobody is watching.
There will always be people who are more experienced, more talented, or working harder than you. Instead of finding that discouraging, I find it motivating. It reminds me that there is always room to improve and another challenge to take on.
Anyway, that's enough of the motivational talk for one post. Thanks for taking the time to read this, and I hope you have a great summer.